Music industry blockchain company Viberate has entered into a partnership with crypto conversion platform Changelly. The move will facilitate the greater adoption of its VIB tokens which are also gaining greater traction on global exchanges. Viberate aims to revolutionize the way musicians are presented and booked by decentralizing the discovery and booking processes with the use of the blockchain technology. Their highly successful token crowdsale raised over $10 million and sold out in less than

Music industry blockchain company Viberate has entered into a partnership with crypto conversion platform Changelly. The move will facilitate the greater adoption of its VIB tokens which are also gaining greater traction on global exchanges.

Viberate aims to revolutionize the way musicians are presented and booked by decentralizing the discovery and booking processes with the use of the blockchain technology. Their highly successful token crowdsale raised over $10 million and sold out in less than five minutes. The next stage in the evolution of the live music-oriented digital currency is to open a way for mass token adoption.

Changelly is a fast and reliable conversion service for a large range of different cryptocurrencies. It takes the job of buying and selling Bitcoin or Ethereum to trade one altcoin for another. Additionally, it can offer some of the lowest rates and fastest turnaround times enabling a quick and low-cost conversion without limits. The platform has been operating since 2015 and has over 1.5 million users, processing around 60,000 Bitcoins per month.

Unlike a number of major crypto exchanges, Changelly still allows tokens to be purchased with Visa or Mastercards. Using 2FA also offers that extra layer of security when making crypto exchanges and conversions. It became clear that Changelly would be the perfect partner to increase Viberate’s token adoption. CEO Konstantin Gladych had this to say:

We are happy that crypto industry becomes more tightly integrated with music. Changelly will provide thousands of customers with VIB tokens they can use for interaction with the Viberate platform. With our built-in widget, Changelly will enable everyone to seamlessly invest into the live music industry with cryptocurrency.

The widget will be featured on Viberate.io, but it will also get integrated into the service itself, allowing users to quickly and seamlessly get VIB tokens while browsing through hundreds of thousands of musician and venue profiles.

Explaining why the implementation of Changelly is important to those who are about to enter the world of cryptocurrencies, Viberate co-founder Vasja Veber said:

After our successful ICO I spent hours explaining how to buy our token to friends and family, who heard about Bitcoin just recently and have no idea what a token is. Before Changelly they needed to open an account at a major exchange, wait to get verified, wire fiat, wait for it to be credited, buy ether or bitcoin, move it to an exchange that lists our token and then they finally got their hands on some VIBs. Now, they only need to get an Ethereum wallet, which takes a few seconds and then buy VIB tokens with their credit card. It’s easier than buying a plane ticket.

As more people get into cryptocurrencies simple and convenient services such as Changelly will grow in popularity. This will be good news for Viberate whose tokens will be available on the platform.

Veber went on to add:

Implementation of Changelly is extremely important for us, because we are building a music talent marketplace, where musicians will get paid in cryptocurrencies and to achieve enough liquidity, a massive adoption of crypto coins and tokens is paramount. We don’t expect event organizers to go through too much of a hassle to get coins and with Changelly they won’t have to. We will simply integrate their widget into every profile, so in the end the whole user experience will not be much different from buying stuff on Amazon.

In addition to buying VIB tokens or exchanging them with other altcoins a rewards program is also in place which distributes 5000 tokens per day to database contributors and those promoting Viberate. An endorsement deal with two-time Grammy award winner Imogen Heap has also been signed to further promote the project. VIB tokens can currently be traded on many of the world’s major exchanges including Binance, Bittrex, OKEx, and HitBTC.

Images courtesy of Viberate

Bitcoinist does not endorse and is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products or other materials on this page. Readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company.

]]>http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/viberate-partners-with-changelly-for-mass-token-adoption/feed/0Bitcoin Cash Price Technical Analysis – BCH/USD Correcting Higherhttp://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/bitcoin-cash-price-technical-analysis-bch-usd-correcting-higher/
http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/bitcoin-cash-price-technical-analysis-bch-usd-correcting-higher/#respondThu, 22 Feb 2018 04:27:48 +0000http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/bitcoin-cash-price-technical-analysis-bch-usd-correcting-higher/Key Points Bitcoin cash price declined further and traded towards the $1,250 support against the US Dollar. There is a new bearish trend line forming with resistance at $1,320 on the hourly chart of BCH/USD (data feed from SimpleFX). The pair is currently correcting higher, but it could face sellers near the $1,320 and $1,350 …

Key Points

Bitcoin cash price declined further and traded towards the $1,250 support against the US Dollar.

There is a new bearish trend line forming with resistance at $1,320 on the hourly chart of BCH/USD (data feed from SimpleFX).

The pair is currently correcting higher, but it could face sellers near the $1,320 and $1,350 levels.

Bitcoin cash price faced an increased selling pressure against the US Dollar. BCH/USD declined towards $1,250 and it is currently correcting higher.

Bitcoin Cash Price Downtrend

Yesterday, there was no major correction in bitcoin cash price above the $1,400 level against the US Dollar. The price declined further and broke yesterday’s low of $1,312. It even traded below the $1,300 level and moved towards the $1,250 support. A new low was formed at $1,251 from where the price started a short-term upside correction.

An initial resistance is around the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $1,508 high to $1,251 low. There are many resistances on the upside and any major correction could face sellers near $1,350. To the topside, there is also a new bearish trend line forming with resistance at $1,320 on the hourly chart of BCH/USD. The trend line resistance is close to the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $1,508 high to $1,251 low. Therefore, if the price corrects higher further, it is likely to face sellersnear the $1,300 and $1,320 level. Above $1,320, the next major upside hurdle is at $1,350.

On the downside, the recent low of $1,251 is a major support. It won’t be easy for sellers to break the $1,250 support zone. Below $1,250, the next support sits at $1,200.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for BCH/USD is strongly placed in the bearish zone.

Bullish sentiment for Bitcoin is gaining renewed momentum. Investors and financial experts are suggesting a variety of catalysts to explain Bitcoin’s rally, such as regulatory softening by some governments and new technological developments. Even PayPal’s Chief Financial Officer now predicts that Bitcoin might become a favorite payment method. In the meantime, Coinbase and Bitfinex are implementing SegWit to reduce transaction costs. Several Factors Are Fueling Bitcoin’s Rally Bitcoin’s current rally has many drivers. One of

Bullish sentiment for Bitcoin is gaining renewed momentum. Investors and financial experts are suggesting a variety of catalysts to explain Bitcoin’s rally, such as regulatory softening by some governments and new technological developments. Even PayPal’s Chief Financial Officer now predicts that Bitcoin might become a favorite payment method. In the meantime, Coinbase and Bitfinex are implementing SegWit to reduce transaction costs.

Several Factors Are Fueling Bitcoin’s Rally

Bitcoin’s current rally has many drivers. One of them is regulatory softening towards cryptocurrency. In this regard, CNBCreports, Brian Kelly, the founder and CEO of BKCM LLC, points out that one of the catalysts for the cryptocurrency’s rally is the fact that the Wyoming House of Representatives unanimously passed two crypto-friendly bills: House Bill 70, and House Bill 19.

House Bill 70 is entitled “Open blockchain tokens-exceptions.” According to State Representative Tyler Lindholm, Bill 70 “exempts initial coin offering [ICO] tokens issued on an open blockchain from Wyoming’s money transmitter and securities laws, as long as the token has not been marketed as an investment and is exchangeable for goods or services.”

On the other hand, Bill 19 is entitled “Wyoming Money Transmitter Act-virtual currency exemption,” and it exempts cryptocurrencies from the state’s money transmitter laws.

Kelly also suggests that another catalyst for Bitcoin’s rally is the South Korean government’s shift from a very hostile stance towards cryptocurrencies to a more supportive attitude, encouraging “normal” crypto trading.

As a result, Kelly concludes:

The sentiment has changed here, which to me is going to start bringing in more investors to the space.

Moreover, John Rainey, CFO of PayPal, is also optimistic about Bitcoin’s future, predicting that Bitcoin will become a popular payment method. When The Wall Street Journalasked him whether “Crypto or bitcoin [will] ever be popular as payments?” Rainey replied:

At some point, there is a very high likelihood. The technology, there is real merit to it. I do think, though, it will be years down the road before we see the kind of ubiquity and acceptance that make it a form of currency that is used every day.

Technological Advances Motivate Bitcoin Optimism

Most importantly, Bitcoin is gradually but surely solving its problem with scalability. Indeed, new schemes and technologies such as Segregated Witness (SegWit), Lightning Network, and Atomic Multi-Path Payments over Lightning, are being implemented to facilitate near-instantaneous low-value Bitcoin payments.

For example, leading Bitcoin exchanges, such as Coinbase and Bitfinex are already implementing Segwit to trade Bitcoin.

Our engineering team has finished testing of SegWit for Bitcoin on Coinbase.

We will be starting a phased launch to customers over the next few days and are targeting a 100% launch to all customers by mid next week.

In one of its earlier announcements regarding the SegWit implementation, Coinbase explained:

For those unfamiliar with SegWit, this upgrade helps reduce the size of transactions, which improves the overall transaction capacity of the Bitcoin network. This upgrade should also help reduce the fees customers pay on bitcoin transactions.

As a result, Bitcoin has been able to withstand threats and hostile actions from bankers, governments, and world financial authorities. And, once again, as the chart above suggests, the cryptocurrency is starting to attract investors with renewed enthusiasm.

How do you think the softening of restrictions will affect Bitcoin’s value? Let us know in the comments below.

]]>http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/several-factors-are-driving-renewed-bullish-sentiment-for-bitcoin/feed/0Bitcoin Price Technical Analysis for 02/22/2018 – Potential Bounce Targetshttp://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/bitcoin-price-technical-analysis-for-02-22-2018-potential-bounce-targets/
http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/bitcoin-price-technical-analysis-for-02-22-2018-potential-bounce-targets/#respondThu, 22 Feb 2018 02:40:02 +0000http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/bitcoin-price-technical-analysis-for-02-22-2018-potential-bounce-targets/Bitcoin Price Key Highlights Bitcoin price is still in correction mode but appears to be bouncing off the trend line support. Applying the Fibonacci extension tool shows how high price could go if the trend line holds. Technical indicators are signaling that the uptrend is about to resume. Bitcoin price is finding support at the …

Bitcoin price is still in correction mode but appears to be bouncing off the trend line support.

Applying the Fibonacci extension tool shows how high price could go if the trend line holds.

Technical indicators are signaling that the uptrend is about to resume.

Bitcoin price is finding support at the area of interest on the trend line, 200 SMA, and $10,000 mark so the rally might resume from here.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is above the longer-term 200 SMA on this time frame so the path of least resistance is to the upside. This means that the rally is more likely to resume than to reverse. Also, the 200 SMA lines up with the rising trend line connecting the latest lows.

Stochastic is pulling up from oversold levels to signal that bullish pressure is returning. Similarly, RSI is also turning higher to show that buyers are ready to jump back in.

A bit of bullish divergence can be seen on stochastic as the oscillator formed higher lows while price had lower lows. A bounce could take bitcoin price up to the 38.2% extension around $11,000 or the 50% extension at the swing highs.

The 61.8% extension is located at $12,000 or another long-term area of interest. The 76.4% extension is at $12,788 then the full extension is at $13,590.

Market Factors

The US dollar enjoyed another wave higher on hawkish FOMC minutes and risk aversion. Policymakers agreed that stronger growth momentum could warrant further tightening in the months ahead.

This led to higher bond yields and another weak close for US equities as business and consumer activity could be dampened by higher interest rates. Note that bitcoin price has been trading alongside stocks and commodities, so the dip also affected the cryptocurrency.

Nonetheless, it’s still worth noting that bitcoin sentiment has improved after a few nations have expressed the need to keep the door open for industry developments. Then again, some top financial officials have made negative remarks on bitcoin, particularly on its ability to be a store of value.

Related

]]>http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/bitcoin-price-technical-analysis-for-02-22-2018-potential-bounce-targets/feed/0With An ROE Of 6.84%, Has BO.S Better Online Solutions Ltd.'s (NASDAQ:BOSC) Management Done A Good Job?http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/with-an-roe-of-6-84-has-bo-s-better-online-solutions-ltd-s-nasdaqbosc-management-done-a-good-job/
http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/with-an-roe-of-6-84-has-bo-s-better-online-solutions-ltd-s-nasdaqbosc-management-done-a-good-job/#respondThu, 22 Feb 2018 01:50:19 +0000http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/with-an-roe-of-6-84-has-bo-s-better-online-solutions-ltd-s-nasdaqbosc-management-done-a-good-job/With an ROE of 6.84%, BO.S Better Online Solutions Ltd. (NASDAQ:BOSC) returned in-line to its own industry which delivered 6.83% over the past year. But what is more interesting is whether BOSC can sustain this level of return. Sustainability can be gauged by a company’s financial leverage – the more debt it has, the higher …

With an ROE of 6.84%, BO.S Better Online Solutions Ltd. (NASDAQ:BOSC) returned in-line to its own industry which delivered 6.83% over the past year. But what is more interesting is whether BOSC can sustain this level of return. Sustainability can be gauged by a company’s financial leverage – the more debt it has, the higher ROE is pumped up in the short term, at the expense of long term interest payment burden. Let me show you what I mean by this. See our latest analysis for B.O.S Better Online Solutions

Breaking down Return on Equity

Firstly, Return on Equity, or ROE, is simply the percentage of last years’ earning against the book value of shareholders’ equity. It essentially shows how much the company can generate in earnings given the amount of equity it has raised. If investors diversify their portfolio by industry, they may want to maximise their return in the Communications Equipment sector by investing in the highest returning stock. However, this can be deceiving as each company has varying costs of equity and debt levels, which could exaggeratedly push up ROE at the same time as accumulating high interest expense.

Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders Equity

ROE is assessed against cost of equity, which is measured using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) – but let’s not dive into the details of that today. For now, let’s just look at the cost of equity number for B.O.S Better Online Solutions, which is 12.01%. Since B.O.S Better Online Solutions’s return does not cover its cost, with a difference of -5.17%, this means its current use of equity is not efficient and not sustainable. Very simply, B.O.S Better Online Solutions pays more for its capital than what it generates in return. ROE can be split up into three useful ratios: net profit margin, asset turnover, and financial leverage. This is called the Dupont Formula:

Essentially, profit margin shows how much money the company makes after paying for all its expenses. The other component, asset turnover, illustrates how much revenue B.O.S Better Online Solutions can make from its asset base. The most interesting ratio, and reflective of sustainability of its ROE, is financial leverage. We can determine if B.O.S Better Online Solutions’s ROE is inflated by borrowing high levels of debt. Generally, a balanced capital structure means its returns will be sustainable over the long run. We can examine this by looking at B.O.S Better Online Solutions’s debt-to-equity ratio. The most recent ratio is 30.42%, which is sensible and indicates B.O.S Better Online Solutions has not taken on too much leverage. Thus, we can conclude its above-average ROE is generated from its capacity to increase profit without a large debt burden.

NasdaqCM:BOSC Historical Debt Feb 21st 18

Next Steps:

ROE is a simple yet informative ratio, illustrating the various components that each measure the quality of the overall stock. B.O.S Better Online Solutions exhibits a strong ROE against its peers, however it was not high enough to cover its own cost of equity this year. ROE is not likely to be inflated by excessive debt funding, giving shareholders more conviction in the sustainability of industry-beating returns. Although ROE can be a useful metric, it is only a small part of diligent research.

For B.O.S Better Online Solutions, I’ve put together three key aspects you should further research:

]]>http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/with-an-roe-of-6-84-has-bo-s-better-online-solutions-ltd-s-nasdaqbosc-management-done-a-good-job/feed/0Here's What Bitcoin Must Prove Before Goldman Sachs Would Investhttp://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/heres-what-bitcoin-must-prove-before-goldman-sachs-would-invest/
http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/heres-what-bitcoin-must-prove-before-goldman-sachs-would-invest/#respondThu, 22 Feb 2018 01:47:04 +0000http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/heres-what-bitcoin-must-prove-before-goldman-sachs-would-invest/Goldman Sachs thinks it may have found Bitcoin’s biggest problem: It doesn’t have one. No, that wasn’t a trick answer. In a new missive this week, a top Goldman Sachs (gs) investment strategist explained what Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would need to do to justify their prices, which have recently rebounded after a sustained crash. …

Goldman Sachs thinks it may have found Bitcoin’s biggest problem: It doesn’t have one.

No, that wasn’t a trick answer. In a new missive this week, a top Goldman Sachs (gs) investment strategist explained what Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would need to do to justify their prices, which have recently rebounded after a sustained crash.

“We believe that the crucial question underpinning the real value of cryptocurrencies themselves, is what economic problem they actually solve?” said Allison Nathan, a senior strategist of global investment research at Goldman Sachs, in a new video released by the bank. “As a currency, cryptos can often seem like a solution in search of a problem.”

It’s a classic “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” argument: After all, Nathan observed, traditional fiat money and banks work just fine in the majority of the world. “There just doesn’t seem to be a need for digital currencies,” she said.

It’s only in “some corners of the world” that lack reliable banking systems and stable local currencies where “cryptos could be a viable alternative,” Nathan continued. Venezuela, for example, where high inflation has shaken confidence in the local bolivar, this week launched its own oil-backed cryptocurrency called the petro, and Bitcoin has also caught on in politically unstable places like Zimbabwe and in other underbanked African nations.

But while Goldman Sachs does acknowledge that cryptocurrencies “solve the economic problem” of keeping money outside the regular banking system—a function that also attracts criminals—this is a relatively minor opportunity.

The bigger opportunity—and critical question—lies within the major banks themselves, and in whether Bitcoin and its digital peers can disrupt and displace traditional currency and commodities on Wall Street and beyond. “When it comes to regulated markets, we believe that gold is a superior store of wealth to Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies and a long list of hurdles remain for that to not be the case,” Nathan concluded.

Echoing another Goldman Sachs research note earlier this month, Nathan raised the possibility that some of today’s top cryptocurrencies “are likely to trade to zero” when they are replaced by “new and improved” versions—”a risk that we believe is underappreciated in the market today.”

Goldman Sachs, of course, is far from the only financial institution to doubt the potential for cryptocurrency to replace paper money or gold. Citi (c), for its part, last month threw cold water on the argument that Bitcoin is “digital gold,” as crypto enthusiasts often call it. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has been similarly dismissive of Bitcoin, going so far as to call it a “fraud” (though he later said he regretted saying so publicly).

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has been more open-minded about Bitcoin’s potential, even suggesting that the natural skepticism that comes with new technologies does not necessarily doom them. “Still thinking about #Bitcoin,” Blankfein wrote on Twitter in October. “No conclusion—not endorsing/rejecting. Know that folks were skeptical when paper money displaced gold.”

In an interview last month with CNBC, however, Blankfein shut down rumors that Goldman would open a Bitcoin trading desk.

For now, it seems, Goldman Sachs itself is still far too skeptical to recommend buying Bitcoin.

There’s a lot of doubt surrounding Bitcoin’s potential as a viable, real-world currency – but PayPal’s chief financial officer sees only positive things in the dominant cryptocurrency’s future. A ‘Very High Likelihood’ of Success According to John Rainey, PayPal’s chief financial officer, Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies will one day become a popular method of payment – just not yet. Rainey told The Wall Street Journal: Given the volatility of bitcoin right now, it’s not a reliable

A ‘Very High Likelihood’ of Success

According to John Rainey, PayPal’s chief financial officer, Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies will one day become a popular method of payment – just not yet. Rainey toldThe Wall Street Journal:

Given the volatility of bitcoin right now, it’s not a reliable currency for transactions because if you’re a merchant and you have a 10% profit margin, and you accept bitcoin, and the very next day bitcoin drops 15%, you are now underwater on that transaction.

Nevertheless, Rainey recognizes Bitcoin as a legitimate currency, even if it’s not quite ready for mainstream adoption yet. Says Rainey:

At some point there is very high likelihood. The technology, there is real merit to it. I do think, though, it will be years down the road before we see the kind of ubiquity and acceptance that make it a form of currency that is used every day.

This is not the first time PayPal has shown support for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. PayPal was one of the first companies to accept cryptocurrency as a currency on its platform, allowing merchants the option to be paid in Bitcoin as early as 2014/2015.

Earlier this year, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman called Bitcoin “an interesting experiment” in a Facebook Live event, while also noting that “it could change the world.” At the same time, Xapo CEO Wences Casares even went so far as to predict a future in which one single Bitcoin could be worth $1 million.

Differing Opinions

Of course, not everyone agrees with Rainey’s and Schulman’s optimistic long-term assessment of Bitcoin’s future as a currency. Earlier this week, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney claimed Bitcoin has already failed on virtually every front, stating:

It has pretty much failed thus far on … the traditional aspects of money. It is not a store of value because it is all over the map. Nobody uses it as a medium of exchange.

Venture capitalist and Tezos investor Tim Draper, however, recently claimed Bitcoin is “the future” of currency while claiming a large portion of the world’s currency will someday be comprised of cryptocurrencies.

What do you think about Bitcoin’s potential as a mainstream currency? Do you think digital currencies are the way of the future? Let us know in the comments below!

]]>http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/paypal-cfo-bitcoins-success-is-very-likely/feed/0Bitcoin Usage Falls to Its Lowest in Monthshttp://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/bitcoin-usage-falls-to-its-lowest-in-months/
http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/bitcoin-usage-falls-to-its-lowest-in-months/#respondThu, 22 Feb 2018 01:03:33 +0000http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/bitcoin-usage-falls-to-its-lowest-in-months/There’s never a bad time to be sending and receiving bitcoin, but right now is especially good. Fees are at the lowest in 18 months, with the average transaction value now under a dollar. This contrasts starkly with the latter quarter of last year, when rising fees peaked at $34. There’s a primary reason why …

There’s never a bad time to be sending and receiving bitcoin, but right now is especially good. Fees are at the lowest in 18 months, with the average transaction value now under a dollar. This contrasts starkly with the latter quarter of last year, when rising fees peaked at $34. There’s a primary reason why fees have been dropping since then: with bitcoin too expensive to send, people simply stopped using it as currency.

Bitcoin Fees Take a Tumble

It’s not just the USD/BTC market that oscillates: bitcoin’s fee market follows suit. Due to various factors ranging from network usage to Segwit adoption and hashrate, fees can rise and fall significantly. Throughout 2017, that trajectory was largely an upward one, culminating, in December, with fees becoming infeasible. Transaction fees have been mercifully declining since then, hitting an 18-month low as of February 21, but given that daily transaction volume has halved in the same period, that’s not surprising. A standard six-block transaction can now be pushed through for as little as 15 cents. Bitinfocharts calculates a median fee of 52 cents, versus just over 1 cent for bitcoin cash.

This reduction in transaction fees will not be felt by all bitcoin users however. Anyone withdrawing from an exchange will still be hit with standard fees. Binance and Kucoin, for example, set a flat rate of 0.001 BTC, or around $10.60 at current prices. As Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pointed out in a recent tweet, though, exchanges have a case for charging above the base rate for the service they’re supplying. Whether they can justify charging upwards of $10 a time is a matter for debate though.

Why the Low Fees?

High transaction fees arguably helped push the “store of value” meme that was popularized on r/bitcoin last year. Saddled with a cryptocurrency that was too expensive to send in small amounts, there was little choice but to hodl and wait for BTC to appreciate in value. Soaring fees were one of the triggers for a number of businesses to stop accepting bitcoin including Stripe and, ironically, the North American Bitcoin Conference. Steam also stopped accepting bitcoin in December, citing “high fees and volatility”. Frustrating as fees have been for users of the bitcoin network, some good has come of this predicament.

Users and exchanges have scrambled to seek out ways of making transactions more efficient, with fixes including batching transactions together and adopting Segwit. Exorbitant fees also spurred quicker trials of the Lightning Network, though its adoption is still too low to have affected current bitcoin fees. Evidence suggests that the biggest driver in fee reduction was not technical, but sociological: on December 17, almost half a million bitcoin transactions were sent. That figure now averages under 200,000 a day.

With fees now at the lowest they’ve been in 18 months, it will be interesting to see whether retailers such as Valve will resume support for cryptocurrencies or steer clear until some sort of stability can be maintained. A number of companies have previously spoken of considering alternative cryptos, with Stripe mentioning litecoin, stellar, and bitcoin cash.

Bitcoin’s real test will come when people resume using the cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange and blocks begin to fill up once more.

Do you think bitcoin fees are now at a reasonable rate, or do they need to fall further still? Let us know in the comments section below.

Related

]]>http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/bitcoin-usage-falls-to-its-lowest-in-months/feed/0How to calculate the exact amount of Bitcoin riches you've missed out onhttp://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/how-to-calculate-the-exact-amount-of-bitcoin-riches-youve-missed-out-on/
http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/how-to-calculate-the-exact-amount-of-bitcoin-riches-youve-missed-out-on/#respondThu, 22 Feb 2018 00:42:55 +0000http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/how-to-calculate-the-exact-amount-of-bitcoin-riches-youve-missed-out-on/Image: screenshot/bitcoinregret.club By Monica Chin2018-02-21 19:11:01 UTC The value of Bitcoin has been a roller coaster, and a select few have come out on top. If you, like most of us, are not among the cryptocurrency elite, never fear. The Bitcoin Regret Club, featured on Product Hunt, is here to remind you just how disappointed …

If you, like most of us, are not among the cryptocurrency elite, never fear. The Bitcoin Regret Club, featured on Product Hunt, is here to remind you just how disappointed you should be that you didn’t invest in bitcoin.

The Club’s calculator is very simple. To start, enter a date and an investment amount.

Image: screenshot/bitcoinregret.club

The website works its magic, then tells you exactly how much money you didn’t make from that investment. For example, if I’d invested $400 on June 6 2013, I would now have $35,586.

Image: screenshot/bitcoinregret.club

Helpfully, the site can also tell you how many products you could have bought, had you been a more daring cryptocurrency investor. For example, with my bitcoin non-revenue, I could have bought 177,930 packs of ramen.

]]>http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/22/how-to-calculate-the-exact-amount-of-bitcoin-riches-youve-missed-out-on/feed/0Ripple Keeps Making Friends – RippleNet Provides a Gateway to Emerging Marketshttp://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/21/ripple-keeps-making-friends-ripplenet-provides-a-gateway-to-emerging-markets/
http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/21/ripple-keeps-making-friends-ripplenet-provides-a-gateway-to-emerging-markets/#respondWed, 21 Feb 2018 23:34:42 +0000http://goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2018/02/21/ripple-keeps-making-friends-ripplenet-provides-a-gateway-to-emerging-markets/Adam James · February 21, 2018 · 6:00 pm<!– Excerpt There is an ever-growing international need for effective, transparent, and low-cost payments which engage with emerging markets. Ripple appears to be the frontrunner when it comes to providing said service, thanks to a whole slew of new partnerships. Making Waves RippleNet, Ripple’s decentralized global network …

There is an ever-growing international need for effective, transparent, and low-cost payments which engage with emerging markets. Ripple appears to be the frontrunner when it comes to providing said service, thanks to a whole slew of new partnerships. Making Waves RippleNet, Ripple’s decentralized global network of banks and payment providers utilizing Ripple’s distributed financial technology, has been garnering all sorts of attention from established financial institutions lately. RippleNet is powered by xCurrent, and provides real-time

There is an ever-growing international need for effective, transparent, and low-cost payments which engage with emerging markets. Ripple appears to be the frontrunner when it comes to providing said service, thanks to a whole slew of new partnerships.

RippleNet is powered by xCurrent, and provides real-time messaging, clearing and settlement of financial transactions — and many companies are eager to utilize the groundbreaking technology, including Brazil’s largest private sector bank and Latin America’s biggest bank by market capitalization, Itaú Unibanco. IndusInd, a leading private sector bank in India, is also using xCurrent, as is Singapore’s major remittance provider InstaReM.

Prajit Nanu, co-founder and CEO of InstaReM, sees RippleNet as the company’s gateway into more than 60 countries across the globe. Said Nanu:

We are pleased to partner with Ripple. Now, RippleNet members will be able to process a large number of payouts in Southeast Asian countries through InstaReM’s secure rails.

Other companies will also utilize xVia, Ripple’s standard interface for corporates, payment providers and banks interested in sending cross-network payments — including Brazil’s Beetech and Canada’s Zip Remit, both of which are remittance providers.

xVia’s simplicity and ease of use are also attracting attention from China, thanks in large part to LianLian International’s recent agreement to join RippleNet.

Emerging Markets

More and more companies are seeing RippleNet as the answer for providing payments into and out of emerging markets.

The payments problem is a global problem, but its negative impact disproportionally affects emerging markets. Whether it’s a teacher in the U.S. sending money home to his family in Brazil, or a small business owner in India trying to move money to open up a second store in another country, it’s imperative that we connect the world’s financial institutions into a payments system that works for their customers, not against them.